The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-30
A SERMON TO SOLDIERS.
REV. TALMAGE'S DISCOURSE AT
THE NATIONAL ENCAMPMENT.

1.
Perfection in Drill Necessary Requi-
site for the Nations Defense - The
Military Science of the Bible - The
Review of All the Armies at the Day
of Judgment.
WASHINGTON, May 29.-Soldiers of the
national drill listened this afternoon to a SER
mon by the Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage, d. D.
Soldiers from thirty-one States and Terri
tories were present, and nineteen Governors
and their staffs Washington is full of
strangers attendant upon the national drill, /,
having for its object improvement in mill
tary science, which began May 23 and will
close tomorrow. The music before and
after the sermon this afternoon was CON
Quoted by military bands. Dr.. Talmages
texts were taken from l. Chronicles xii. 33
Fifty thousand which could keep
rank" and Judges XXX, Is: Everyone could
sling stones at hair-breadth and not miss. !"
The preacher said:
Companies of infantry, cavalry, artillery
and zouaves, please notice the first Scripture
passage applauds the soldiers of Zebulun be-
cause they were disciplined troops They
lllttJ udNc D0Si1 lileUlCleuU lue ana
laughed at by old soldiers because they
seemed so clumsy in the line, but it was
drill, drill, drill until they could keep step as
one man. Fifty thousand which could
keep rank The second Scripture passage
applauds regiment of singers in the tribe
of Benjamin because they are dexterous
marksmen. When they first enlisted they
may have been an awkward squad and all
their fingers were thumbs, but they prac-
,aI lot
always hit it. Every one could sling
stones at a ha1r-breadth and not miss. .
Both texts combining to show us that if we
must fight we should do it well.
There is something absorbing in the mill
tary science of the Bible In olden times all
the men between 20 and 80 years of age were
enrolled in the army and then a levy was
made for Especial service. There were only
three or four classes exempt; those who had
built house and had not occupied it: those
who had planted a garden and had not
reaped the fruit of it; those who were en-
gagged to be married and yet had not led the
bride to the altar; those who were yet in the
first year of welded life; those who were so
nervous that they could not look upon an
enemy but they fed and could not look upon
blood but they tainted.
The army was in three divisions-the
centre and right and left wings The wea-
plate buckler. The weapons of offenSe were
sword, spear, javelin, arrow, catapult-
which was merely bow swung by ma
chinery, shooting arrows at vast distances
great arrows, one arrow as large as several
men could lift, and balliSta, which was
sling swung by machinery, hurting great
rocks and large pieces of lead to vast dis
tances. The shields were made of woven
willow-work with three thicknesSes of hide
and loop inside through which the arm of
the warrior might be thrust; and when these
soldiers were marching to attack an enemy
on the level, all these shields touched each
other, making a wall moving but impene-
t~able; and then when they attacked a fort
reSs and tried to capture a battlement. this
shield was lifted over the head so as to resist
the falling missiles. The breastplate was
made of two pieces ofleather, brass covered,
one piece falling over the breast, the other
falling over the back. At the side of the
warrior the two pieces fastened with but
tons or clasps.
The bows were, so stout and stiff and
strong that warriors often challenged each
other to bend one. The strings of the bow
were made from Sinews of oxen. A case
like an inverted pyramid was fastened to
the back, that case containing the arrows,
so that when the warrior wanted to use an
arrow he would put his arm over his
shoulder and pull forth the arrow for the
fight. The ankle of the foot had an iron
boot. When a wall was to be assaulted
battering ram was brought up. A batter
ing ram was u great beam swung on chains
in equilibrium. The battering ram would
be brought close up to the wall and then
great number of men would take hold of
this beam, push it back as far as they could
and then let go, ard the beam became a
great swinging pendulum of destruction.
Twenty or forty men would stand in a
movable tower on the back of an elephant,
the elephant made drunk with wine and
then headed toward the enemy, and what
with the heavy feet and the swinging pro-
bosciS and the poisoned arrows shot from
the movable tower, the destruction was APP
paliing. War chariots were in vogue and
they were on two wheels so they could
easily turn. A sword was fastened to the
pole between the horses so when they went
ahead the sword thrust and when they
turned around it would NOW down. The
armies carried flags beautifully embroidered.
Tribe of Judah carried flag embroidered
with a lion; tribe of Reuben, embroidered
with man; tribe of Dan, embroidered with
cherubim. The noise of the host as they
moved on was overwhelming. What with
the clatter of shields and the rurab-
ling of wheels and the shouts of the cap
tains, and the vociferation Of the entire
host, the prophet says it was like the roar
ing of the sea. Because the arts of war
have been advancing all these years you are
not to conclude that these armies of olden
times were an uncomfortable mob. ] could
quote you four or five passages of Scripture
showing you that they were thoroughly
drilled; they marched step to step, shoulder
to shoulder, or, as my texts express it, they
were ''lifty thousand which could keep
rank and Every one could sling stones
at a hafr-breadth and not miss
Nothing could be more important than
this great national encalnpment. Undrilled
troops can never stand before those which
are drilled. At time when other nations
are giving such care to military tactics. it
bchooves this nation to lack nothing in skill.
We shall never have another war between
North and South The old decayed bone of
contention, American slavery, has been cast
out although here and there n depraved
politician takes it up 10 see if he can gnaw
something off of it. We are floating off
further and further from the possibility of
sectional strife, but about foreign invasion
/ am not so sure. There is absolutely no
room on this continent for any other nation.
have been across the country again and
again and know that we have not a hnlf
inch of ground for the equity foot of foreign
despotisin 10 stand on. | do not know but
that half dozen nations envious Of our
prosperity may want to give us a
wrestle. During our civil war there were
two or three nations that could hardly keep
their hands of of us. It is very easy TO pick
national quarrels, and IL our nation escapes
rn,,DI, e. will la thu cypAsat{ou II